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Monday, 22 January 2018

It's been an era since I last posted and although it's actually only months ago, it already feels like a different life time.

Life has changed, and honestly if you had asked me this time last year what my life would look like, my answer would not have been this. I think it may have been something along the lines of, blogging, potentially a new job, a couple of holidays and life would be pretty much as it had been, no big plans or goals to reach for.

But that's life, and it doesn't always turn out how you expect, good or bad it's a funny old game.

In October last year I went on a 2 week holiday with my husband to Northern Cyprus. Two major things happened to me when I was there.

1st, my grandad died. He was 97, and after losing my nan in December 2016 had begun to waste away with loneliness and exhaustion. We have a big family and we all adored him, but the daily visits and phone calls couldn't replace what he had with my nan. So one morning he woke up, got up and made his bed, dressed in trousers and a shirt, made himself a cup of tea which he then washed up, and then (here is where I would like to think my nan came to get him) he left us. He was the most treasured gramps, he was funny, naughty, cuddly, singing, loving, adoring grandad you could ever want. Treasured memories.

I was surprised it happened as he was always so hale, but the heart knows what it knows and when you lose the other half of yourself, there's only so long you can stay on this earth for without joining them to make yourself whole again.

6 days later, I took a pregnancy test that had the faintest positive line, but positive it was. With sadness, then came joy, shock, fear, elation, and probably a whole host of other emotions I can't even describe. My husband and I had suffered pregnancy loss but it felt different, purposeful and true. I somehow knew that even though that line was faint it was the strongest line I'd ever seen.

My heart began to repair and I remember looking up to the brightest moon that night and saying thank you to my grandad, for all he'd given me.

Telling my mum was so hard. I waited until I got home and after the funeral. I was scared that by telling her I would build up her hopes only for them to be lost again if the pregnancy wasn't viable. But seeing her face when I told her, was worth all the worry.

Since then I've been on a personal journey of discovery and acceptance, not to mention horrible all day pregnancy sickness that affected my work and relationships - but thankfully I'm in my 2nd trimester and that seems to be a distant bad memory, except for mushrooms, I still can't eat a mushroom on it's own :(

Being a mum is something I never actually thought I'd be, and as I said at this time last year I had definitely been planning life without children. But although I'm finding it tough to picture myself with the care and responsibility of another human, I can rise to that challenge and do it to the best of my ability. I have the most fantastic husband that has allowed me to shine and with him by my side will help me be a great mum. He will be the best dad and I wouldn't have considered doing this with any one else.

I also have such an incredible family, especially the women. They are all strong, and will influence my child the way they influence me.

So, after all that, I'm happy it's a new era, and can't wait for the next chapter to begin.

Saturday, 2 September 2017

When I started my plant based diet journey a couple of years ago
and then a gradual vegan lifestyle at the beginning of 2017, I had no idea just
what I'd have to change to stay on that path.

The food, well that's a given,
and has been relatively easier than I thought, but for other bits, like beauty
and skin care - well I have struggled a bit!

I have an oily T-Zone which can
also turn very dry, so finding a suitable replacement for my makeup products
was a hit and miss. I have always been a fan of The Body Shop but they have
only recently been bought by a Brazilian company that is against the testing of
products on Animals - so now I feel like they can really say they are against
animal cruelty and offer truly vegan products.

I have been using their seaweed range for years though, as it's specifically for oily skin, but they have now
stopped making the cream cleanser. I also have the facial wash, but I don't
always wash my face in the shower if I'm not washing my hair, so I like to use
a liquid cleanser with a cotton pad to remove my makeup. As my skin can get
dry, I like to use a cream cleanser so I bought one from the Aloe range.

Then I discovered NIOD - they are far pricier but also offer vegan
products. For the cleanser, I bought Low-Viscosity Cleaning Ester for £30, it's
alcohol free which is great as I find products with alcohol in strip my face
ultimately making me oilier!

I decided to purchase a moisturiser from them too as my facialist Loretta, has told me that my skin is dehydrated - I drink loads of water but I hardly
wear a moisturiser as I've never found one that hydrates my skin without making
me oily - so any moisturiser I use, I put on before I go to bed, and never in
the day.

The Hydration Vaccine by NIOD had really good reviews It has a PH
of 5-6 and again is alcohol free and costs £35. The reviews say how it makes
skin feel super hydrated without a greasy or oily feel, and I agree - so far I
don't feel like I'm producing extra oil or shine but I still have a healthy
glow.

When I go into the office in
Central London, I don't like to wear a lot of makeup but I'm pale and my skin
tone is uneven so I've been trying to find something that I can put on my face
that just gives a slight tan, glow without that horrible shimmer look. So along
with the Hydration Vaccine moisturiser I tried the NIOD Photography Fluid
Opacity 8% - which is an oil free tint that doesn't leave any noticeable
shimmer, but makes your skin look sun kissed and healthy. I use a small amount
of The Body Shop liquid concealer around my nose and on blemishes as it doesn't
give any coverage as such. But it makes my skin look great!

I have discovered a fantastic vegan beauty subscription box
company, but they also offer a 'build your own' option which is so good!
VObeauty.co.uk offer a really good choice and couldn't wait to try their build
your own box so I knew exactly what would be arriving would be the products I
could use. The lovely people at VO were also so helpful when I had questions
about the products and they recommended some of the items - I definitely
recommend you look them up if you like getting presents every month 😆

As I noted I do have large pores so I chose the Konjac mini pore
refiner in French green clay for £6.99 - I haven't tried this yet but I'll put
an update as soon as I do.

I don't tend to wear lipstick often as my lips look uneven and a
bit chapped so when I saw they had the Pura Cosmetics lip scrub (in Pina Colada - smells ah-maze.ing!!)
for £4.50 I had to try that.

Then to go with fresh new lips, I bought the Saturated Colour
lipstick in Lady In Red for £7 - stays on like a dream!!

Another product I've struggled with finding a decent alternative
is a mascara. I like big brushes that coat my lashes making them look longer
and thicker so I chose the BWC full volume mascara in black for £7.99 and I
love it! Makes my lashes look so long and it doesn't clog or flake at the end
of the day or night. It comes off really easily with eye makeup remover. I
highly recommend this to you.

Then last but by absolutely no means least I chose the Made by
Coopers Apothecary Vanilla Rose bath salts for £5. OH. MY. WORD. With the
essential oils and Epsom salts, I think I went off to heaven. I rarely bath and
opt for time saving showers, so getting to try this in a bath made me realise
what I'm missing - it was so relaxing and my skin felt incredible afterwards.

I also changed my hair products to Avalon Organics. I bought these
from Holland & Barretts for £6 each. I bought the Volumizing Rosemary
shampoo which is great as I have fine hair that lacks volume. Then I bought the
Strengthening Peppermint conditioner - it says to leave on for a few minutes
and during this time you can feel the peppermint cooling sensation on your
scalp and neck, very nice.

I do colour my hair so I'm still on the look out for vegan shampoo
and conditioners for coloured hair - if you use one that's good please let me
know

I'm swapping out the rest of my
products so I'll put another update up when I have a full makeup bag to show
you

Friday, 4 August 2017

I think it’s pretty obvious I love food. If I’m not eating
it, I’m talking about it. And If I’m not talking about it, I’m definitely
thinking about it.

Since I moved to a plant based diet, the search for great
vegan food out and about has somewhat consumed my life – living in London I
fully expected there to be vegan restaurants or vegan options on every menu I
looked at.

Not so! This so-called gentrification certainly isn’t
happening anywhere near me (thank goodness for that) and so I’m lacking in
eating out options around my local area. However, I work in the Waterloo area
and although the gentrification seems to have passed this area by (fingers
crossed) it still has wonderful street food markets and plenty of lunch time
and after work vegan food options.

So when I was contacted on Instagram by a vegan chef asking
me to come and sample some of his new street food inspired menu, and he is
based in SE1, I nearly chocked on my falafel and couldn’t type my reply quick
enough.

My normal aloofness vanished and my simple answer was, “yes,
when?”

Meeting Jamie White, the head chef at Jacks Bar in Isabella
Street has been a breath of fresh air. Not only is his food some of the
tastiest vegan food I’ve tried to date (and totally insta worthy!) his passion
for what he does, and what he wants to achieve is inspiring!

Sitting down with him and talking through his hopes and
aspirations was so fun. He told me about his choice to have a plant based diet
and how this has influenced his cooking and the vegan additions to the Jacks
Bar menu with things like Thai BBQ seitan ribs, jerk quinoa broccoli wings and
an Asian salad.

Jacks Bar is a fun and lively place, good drinks, comfy
seats, big screens, good music and now a menu that caters for pretty much
everyone. If you’re in the area, or stuck on where to go for after work drinks
and nibbles you should check this place out.

Ultimately Jamie wants people to travel to see him, to take
his street food van to different locations and have a cult following – from what
I’ve tasted so far I will be at the front of every queue.

At the moment he’s
loving his job at Jack’s so I know we have to sit and wait impatiently for this
to happen, so until it does, you’ll find me at Jacks ordering the Black Bean
Burger with maple beacon, pepper jack cheese and ranch sauce – hands down the
best damn burger I’ve tasted!

The man himself, Jamie White

Do yourselves a favour, go and eat his food. Ask to meet him, talk to him about his ideas and inspirations. You will leave knowing you've just met someone passionate about good food and once you've tasted his creations, you'll be just as hooked as I am.

Wednesday, 2 August 2017

I've been meaning to make a risotto for ages. In fact I've had risotto rice from Waitrose in my cupboard for months.

I get my shopping delivered, usually on a Sunday so by Wednesday there are definitely a few items in my fridge that need to be used and this week it was asparagus and mushrooms - so I thought a good way of using up the mushrooms was in a yummy vegan risotto.

Also by Wednesday I'm usually pretty tired from work, I mean it's hump day so the kitchen can get pretty messy if I'm not careful - so I do try and stick to 1 pan/pot dishes to keep the clean up minimal

When I didn't have a plant based diet I used to order risotto in restaurants and enjoy the cheesy gooieness of the sauce and since then I haven't found a vegan version that I've liked. I've tried a few in restaurants but they've been bland, watery and definitely missing that signature cheesy taste.

What I found since cooking with alternatives is how good nutritional yeast is in adding a cheesy taste and texture so it was a given that I'd add that in, plus it's fortified with B12 - bonus.

This risotto took me 30 minutes from start to finish, not the quickest but definitely quick enough for a midweek meal - I added vegan wine for the sauce and a glass for whilst I was eating it, cold and very crisp. Lovely!